Siblings
by asdawnbreaks
Summary: The lives of Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne revolve around their siblings, but we never get to see what they think on any subject. So here is Katniss and Gale's friendship, as told by their siblings! PrimxRory, GalexKatniss
1. Meeting

**A/N: The last time i read THG, i was wondering how Prim and Gale's siblings would feel about certain things that went on around them. So I started writing! Hope you like it and don't forget to review :)**

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I don't think I've ever seen Katniss as scared as she was this morning.

She didn't know it, but I was actually awake, and I was watching her when she left. She was headed to the woods, for me.

I'm only four years younger than she is, but we're both older than our years anyway. Dad's accident only happened a few months ago, and Kat has taken over to feed me. She goes hungry most nights, and I try really hard not to complain, but I'm so hungry, all the time.

So she finally decided she'd had enough of the tesserae and of the goat's milk and cheese, and has finally taken to the woods. She's only been gone a few hours, but I'm just worried about her being alone. I wish she had taken me, but she says the forest is no place for an eight year old, and I have no business handling weapons.

Like she does either.

A few hours after dawn, she finally comes through the door, and she's smiling so widely that it kind of catches me off guard. I haven't seen her smile like that since Dad died. It's only for the food though, and her smile evaporates as soon as my stomach is full, and she doesn't start eating until Mom and I both have eaten. She ushers me to bed and I sleep peacefully on my full stomach, for the first time since Dad passed.

She gets braver as the days go by, soon she goes hunting even when we don't need the food and says she has to practice. I don't know anything about hunting, but I get down the book of useable and eatable herbs that Dad made and I spend the next week drilling her on it.

Before long, I start to put on a little weight. It's not really noticeable to anyone who isn't an Everdeen, but it's really noticeable to me and I can't stop smiling. There are a few boys in my class who have noticed how much fuller my face looks, and I can't say I'm unhappy about it. Kat spends too much time in the woods, so she doesn't really understand how I can have time to spend on boys.

And I've already had more boyfriends than she has. But I really like this boy in my class, named Rory Hawthorne. I'm too afraid to talk to him, but I'm hoping he notices some of the boyfriends I've had and gets all jealous. A girl can dream, right?

About two weeks after Katniss starts hunting, the Victory Tour comes to town, and she's too afraid to go into the woods with all the Peacekeepers around. It only lasts for a day or two, but the tribute is from District 7, and 12 is trying extra hard to impress her. I don't really care what Johanna Mason or whatever her name is thinks of my home, but everyone else does.

But this will be Katniss's first reaping, and I can tell she's really nervous about it. She only has a few months left until the actual reaping, and I'm just as scared as she is… I'm not sure what I would do if she weren't here.

She starts going over the book of herbs with me almost every night, until I know them front, back, side, in and out of water. I'm exhausted, and one night, possibly the hardest drilling ever, I end up falling asleep in her bed instead of with mother.

But in the dead of night, I realize I've made the wrong decision in sleeping with Kat, because her nightmares make her thrash all over the bed and it wakes me up. I sneak out of bed to join Mom in her bed, but I hear Kat talking. She never speaks in her sleep, so I decide to inch closer so I can hear what she's saying. I think it's a name, it sounds like she's saying Kale, or Gale, but I can't be sure.

I pull back the quilt on Mom's bed and think of people I know with similar names. Mail, Kale Outland, Gale Hawthorne… Surely she wasn't dreaming of Gale Hawthorne.

He's only two years older than her, and he's undoubtedly the most handsome boy in the district. I know Kat, she would convince herself she didn't have time to chase him, so why was she saying his name? I decide not to worry about it and pass out again.

It seems like I've just closed my eyes and Katniss is waking me again for school. She wears the smile she had from last night, and I recognize fresh meat sitting on the table for our lunches today. She serves me a light breakfast, and the smile doesn't fade like it normally does.

"What's up with you?" I ask her.

She shakes her head and raises an eyebrow as she puts on her jacket, "Nothing. Why?"

"You're just acting weird," I answer. She lets the silence sit as I finish eating and getting ready. The smile still doesn't disappear, and I wonder if it's from her dream or if she saw something (or some_one_) spectacular in the woods today.

"Who's Gale?" I ask.

She tries to hide it, but I can see a faint blush on her face, and I start giggling, which makes the color deepen. She shakes her head, "Hawthorne. I met him in the woods yesterday," and dismisses the subject.

I can't be certain, but I think her smile widens as she yells that we're going to be late.

…

Today is the day. My whole future rides on this one moment.

Mom and I take our baths and get ready as Katniss comes in from the woods. She's a lot calmer than I would expect, but she did just get back from the woods with Gale. Six whole months and they never spend more than two days apart. I'm glad she's found someone she can confide in. I mean, she's my sister and all, but she's twelve and I'm eight. There are just some things that I know she doesn't want to talk to me about but that she can talk to Gale about.

Like food. And Mom.

Mother has gotten worse over the months. It's like the happier she sees me, and the more she sees Katniss trying to have a normal life, the farther away she gets. I know it's on Kat's mind a lot, but I don't want to make anything harder for her, so I sit quietly and pretend I don't notice and do my homework.

But today is different. As Kat walks through the door, she hugs me and looks at Mother. There's hardness in her eyes, and I don't know if it's from the stress of possibly leaving me by myself or just because Gale is in the Reaping too. She can't lie to me though, I know she cares about him as much as she does for Mother and I.

She takes her bath and I sit on her bed while she changes. Mother is in her rocker in the other room, and we can hear the creaking of it as she rocks back and forth to pass the time. As Katniss finishes putting on the reaping dress, she crouches down to take my hand.

"Prim, this is a very important day." I nod, and let her continue, "You know how Gale and I have been working to feed you and his family," I nod again, "and you know the herb book, right?" Once more, I nod, afraid to speak. "If this ends badly today, I want you to start going into the woods with Gale. You don't have to hunt, and he won't let you. He'll show you how to be quiet and gather the herbs we need to eat."

I nod and she tilts my chin up, "Prim, do you understand? He will feed you and give you all the meat you need, but you will have to show him herbs. Got me?"

"Yes, Katniss."

And without another word, the bell rings, signaling it's time for us to go to the square. She takes my hand and leads Mother and I into town. She has a firm hold of my hand, but I can see her eyes darting across the square, and the tenseness of her body.

She's looking for Gale.

When she finally finds him, her whole body relaxes as he leads his larger family over to ours. I look at Rory Hawthorne before giggling and dropping my eyes. Kat lets go of my hand and crouches in front of me to hug me and kiss my forehead again. I squeeze her tight and whisper good luck for her.

She forces a smile as she stands up and takes Gale's hand before heading to her spot in the square.


	2. Girlfriend

Mom is yelling at Gale again. It's a little uncommon, considering he feeds me more than she does. But he just stands there and takes it, as if he deserves it. I wouldn't take it, I think Gale has a right to stay overnight in the woods with her if he wants to. He _is_ the one who puts the food on the table. I mean, he's only 16 and all, but I wouldn't want to make the breadwinner of the house angry with me.

But she's all upset, not because Gale wants to spend the night, but because he wants to with a _girl_. I can't imagine why, girls are disgusting, but he's going to spend the night with a girl anyway. And not just any girl, _Katniss Everdeen_. He said they were going to be gone a long time, and not to expect him until dark, but Mom worries too much, and soon she'll just be convinced he's dead.

Vick and I can see them arguing through the curtain on the window, and we can faintly hear their words.

Mom paces the living room, getting angrier with every step, but Gale just stands and listens to her yell at him about keeping his image as a "respectable" young man, whatever that means.

"You keep on spending nights in the woods and you're going to get _caught_," she rages.

Gale just rolls his eyes, "Mom, we trade with all the Peacekeepers. Cray isn't going to turn us in if we keep bringing him turkey."

"But one of these days, young man," Mom says, "you are going to get caught being out there more than necessary and something terrible is going to happen."

Gale turns quickly to her, "Like what, mom? They're going to execute me? If I stay away from the woods, we'll die anyway! I'd much rather go by way of a bullet than by starvation!"

Vick looks up from his mud pie and at me, I just shake my head for him to go back to whatever he's building. Posy starts crying at Gale's raised voice, and I can hear Mom quietly say, "Don't let that girl ruin you, Gale. I love her as if she were my own kid, but I don't want the two of you to ruin the rest of your lives on one moment of happiness. If you're in love, fine, make her your girlfriend and marry her. Don't waste your life waiting on her."

I don't really understand what Mom said to him, but Gale does, and it makes him angry enough to storm from the house, still tucking his pant legs into his boots and shrugging on his hunting jacket.

"Gale! Wait up!" I chase after him, flinging all of my mud on Vick's face. He's only like seven or something, it's too easy to pick on him. He says something like for me to leave him alone, but I don't really listen. "What happened, Gale?"

He shakes his head, but he starts rambling, so I patiently listen, "She thinks Katniss is my girlfriend, and she's not. We're just friends." He stops really sudden, so I nudge his elbow for him to go on.

Gale's a lot older than me, but we're still pretty close. Even though he's gone all the time, he's still my best friend and gives me more advice than most of my friends. I know his life well enough to know that his girlfriend is _actually_ Macy Henworth, from town. Her daddy is the pot maker in town, and she's really pretty.

When Gale doesn't say anything else, I ask him, "Did you tell her about Macy?"

He shakes his head, "Macy isn't the type of girl I'd want to bring home to meet my family." He turns away from me and I can hear him mumbling, "Only one girl has that honor."

I get a little confused by that; Katniss is the only girl I've ever met, and she's for sure the only girl mom's ever met. I look back up at him to see him rubbing his hand through his hair, which means he's at a loss for words. "Are you going anyway?"

He smiles and reaches down to rustle my hair, "Of course I am, Rory. We've got to eat something, right? And the Reaping and Games are next week—you know I won't be able to go into the woods to hunt." He looks me dead in the eye, and I see something that I never see unless it's this time of the year: fear. Gale's worst fear is our family (and Katniss's) starving to death, and the thought that he might get reaped only makes it even more alarming.

"You're not just going for hunting, are you?" I ask him.

He chuckles and takes me around the shoulders, the fear leaving his eyes and replaced by twinkling, "You're pretty sharp for a ten year old. But no, she's is stressing out over one of us being reaped, so I'm taking her on this mini-get away of sorts. Maybe it'll clear out her mind."

And without another word, he leads me into the house to clean up for supper.

…

When Gale returns from his trip three days later, he is all smiles and meat as he comes through the door. Mom is less than happy about the big smile on his face, but all the meat is something she can't really pass up just because Gale was with Katniss for a few days. So he guts the meat just like always, and she prepares it so we can use it next week.

Three days without Gale around is a long time for me and Vick. It's hard to just wrestle with each other every night because we love ganging up on Gale. One of us always tackles his shoulders while the other hangs from his belt. We always win, too!

Posy is still a toddler, and she's constantly into everything or following me and Vick around. It's irritating. But when she sees Gale come through the door, she just laughs and squeals until he picks her up and holds her close. Sometimes Gale acts like he's our dad, but it gives me someone to talk and play with that won't get me into trouble, so I don't mind a whole lot.

I help him with some of the work on the meat and ask him how his trip went.

"Good," Gale says. But he is smirking, which means it was better than good.

"Tell me!" I scream.

He laughs, "It was nice to get away for a little bit. I have Katniss convinced that she won't get reaped now."

"What about you?" I blurt.

Gale stops suddenly with his knife in his hand. He tries to smile at me, but his lip is quivering. "How many slips do you have, Gale?" I ask him.

"Not that many," he replies. "My slips aren't the most important in those bowls."

His comment confuses me, "What does that mean?"

Gale goes back to cutting his meat and just smirks at me, "Rory, you're not really old enough to understand yet."

I grab one of the squirrels and start helping him with the kills, "Explain it to me."

He smiles again, "Well Rory, if I was reaped, I would be okay." I give him a quizzical look, so he laughs and keeps going, "I would know that you, Vick, Posy, Mom and Prim would all be fed because Katniss would take care of you. You would all be safe."

"That makes sense, I guess," I say.

"But if Katniss were reaped, if I had to lose my best friend…" He stops his work and looks off into the distance, "I would take care of us, but I know I wouldn't be the same."

I nod, "Would she? If you had to leave, would she be okay?"

"I'm not sure, Rory. I think after a while she would be."

We hear mom calling us in for dinner, so Gale smiles and walks inside with me to clean up.


	3. Nightmares

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! Please be sure to leave reviews so i know how i'm doing!**

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I've been having the same nightmare for a month: Katniss and Gale are both reaped, and Rory and I have to start feeding us. It's a nightmare I always have whenever people start talking about the Hunger Games. But this year it's a little different in variation because I'm eligible for Reaping too. This year, the dream consists of me having to go into the games with Gale, or Katniss volunteering, and the oldest dream of Gale and Katniss going in together.

I look around me and notice Katniss has already gone out to hunt, which is unsurprising considering the sun is already peeking through the window. Mom isn't awake yet, so I go ahead and get myself ready for my bath. I take great care in drying myself off and picking out my clothes.

It's a plain pale blue skirt and white button up that Katniss wore on her first and second Reaping days, and I'm hoping it'll bring me the same luck it brought her. Mom wakes up just as I start attempting doing something with my hair, and she smiles, "Let me braid it."

So I sit on the stool quietly and let her divide my hair and braid it down my back. Just as she finishes securing the braid with a hair tie, Katniss walks through the door with rabbits and squirrels. She smells like soot, so I assume she's been to the Hob already. Gale stands outside the door and waves as he calls to me, "Hello Prim!"

"Hey Gale!" I wave back, happy to see him. Katniss waves to him too and dismisses him back to his own house. I'll never understand why Katniss doesn't pay attention to the poor boy, but she never does around me or anybody else. But I see the look in her eyes—I know she's nicer to him in the woods.

Mom and I sit down to lunch while Katniss takes her bath and puts on the dress Mom laid out for her. It was one from her days as a merchant's daughter—all of her clothes from then are so pretty—and we know she treasures it. She offers to do Kat's hair too, and surprisingly Kat lets her. It's no secret that Katniss resents our mother. Being the sole provider for our family has been tough, but Katniss has never complained around me. She does everything she can for me, and still manages to be more of a mother than our mother really is.

Like now, for instance. Katniss comes walking through the bedroom door with the biggest smile on her face, "Look at you, my little duck! You look so beautiful!"

I know it's just a show, that she's just trying to seem happy in spite of what day it is, but it doesn't fail to make me smile. "But you should tuck in your tail, little duck," and she reaches around to tuck in my shirt properly. The whistle from the square blows, and she takes my hand, announcing that it's time to go.

We walk quietly to the square, and I'm holding on to her hand and to mother's. I see a bunch of kids just like me, all of us are scared, all of us are tired. Mother kisses my forehead and hugs Katniss before going to the roped off section of the square. Katniss takes my hand and leads me forward, but I stop in my tracks, "No, I can't. I can't do it."

Katniss looks around and then looks into my eyes, "It's your first year, Prim, they aren't going to pick you." She hugs me again and I can feel my nerves disappear, Katniss has that effect. She's so strong for me, letting me break down in front of all these people. But she grabs my shoulders and crouches down so she is at eye level, "Prim, if you are picked, _don't worry_. You stride to the stage, you hold your head high, you never show fear. Am I clear?" I nod, but I know that she isn't going to let me go through with it.

As much as I don't want her to, I know Katniss will volunteer. She'll either wait to see if Gale is picked, or she'll volunteer right out. I wouldn't mind going into the games with Gale because I know he'll protect me, but I'm not sure I could bear watching Katniss go through it. Either way, I start to silently pray that neither the Hawthornes nor the Everdeens are picked today.

I catch Rory's eye as I start to head down to where I'm supposed to stand. He's a year younger than I am, and he's just as scared as I am, even though he's not eligible for reapings yet. Rory is my best friend in a lot of ways, and in other ways, I think he's just so cute. But I'll think about that _after_ we go home, _after_ this reaping is over.

Gale comes up behind Katniss and puts his hand on her shoulder while grabbing my wrist. He forces a smile and provokes one out of me, "Don't you look pretty today, Prim."

"Thanks, Gale," I reply. He's dressed in his nicest clothes, and he looks handsome—easily the prettiest face in the district, "You look handsome yourself."

He smiles as if it's the best compliment he's ever received. But before he can respond, the bell tolls, signaling for Gale, Katniss, and I to take our places in the crowd.

My hands start to shake, and I cannot even find the comfort of any of my friends in the twelve year old section. I just want Katniss and Gale's hands to hold. They're basically my parents anyway, and I just want them to comfort me and protect me from these stupid Hunger Games.

The woman from the Capitol strides to the stage and presents the video they show every year. I'm supposed to be paying attention, but I can't focus on anything except trying to turn around to see Katniss. When I finally manage to sneak a glance, her head is turned sideways, towards the boys section. She's looking for Gale, and I know that. I start to look for him too, and his eyes lock with mine. He smirks and gives me a wink of encouragement—Gale is always watching out for me. I know if Katniss doesn't volunteer to protect me, he will, and that is enough for me to calm down while the woman pulls out the names.

I close my eyes and I can hear her rustle the papers in the bowl through the microphone. There's only one slip with my name, and I'm worried about it, but not half as much as I'm worried about the 42 slips with Gale's name and the 24 with Kat's.

_Not them, not them, not them,_ I think.

And she announces, "Primrose Everdeen."

I feel like time has slowed down to at least half its normal speed. I register the people around me moving, as if I am dangerous and they must steer clear of me. I start walking to the stage, and I remember what Katniss said about my duck tail, so I reach back to tuck it in. I remember that I must not show fear, so I hold my head high and walk to the stage. I hear my name being called behind me, and I try not to look, because I know if I see Mom or Katniss's face, I'll start crying, and then it will be over.

But then I hear the phrase I was praying I wouldn't: "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

"_No, Katniss! No!_" I scream, but I know it doesn't matter.

I run to Katniss and she starts telling me to go find Mom, clearly trying to keep herself together, but I can't move—I can't think—I don't want her to go.

A pair of big hands grab me from behind and put me up next to his chest, and Gale holds me as he says, "Up you go, Catnip." I can feel his muscles shaking, and I know now that all he can do is hope his name isn't called so someone can feed us.

He carries me back to my mother and kisses me forehead before crouching down to hold my hand. Katniss introduces herself to the crowd and Effie Trinket calls for a round of applause.

The people of the crowd look around to each other, unsure of what to do. But Gale knows, and he stands up before pressing three fingers to his mouth and raising them up to her, and I follow him. The rest of the crowd notices, and they all do the same.

But unlike the symbol at funerals, this is not a good bye. This is not an I love you. The people of district 12 are wishing Katniss Everdeen luck by holding their hands high and saying, "We believe in you."


	4. Unspoken

**A/N: Just wondering if you guys think i should go through the details of the games from Prim & Rory's POV, or if i should only hit the highlights and get on to Catching Fire! Please review and let me know what you think!**

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It's only been ten minutes since Katniss volunteered, but Gale can't stop pacing or mumbling to himself. Mother took Vick and Posy home, but I offered to stay with Gale in the Justice Building so he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Family members and friends only get three minutes apiece, and that time is usually spent saying goodbyes, because for 23 tributes this is the last time they're going to see their family. But Katniss has basically been a member of our family for the last four years, and I know her well enough to know that emotions aren't really her thing. Instead of saying goodbye, Katniss has probably spent the last three minutes giving her mother and Prim instructions on how to eat and things like that.

And I'm sure if Gale ever gets his turn with her, he's going to be giving her instructions for once she gets in the arena. I can imagine that his mumblings are condensed instructions on how to get her home safely.

When Katniss volunteered, I felt Mom grab my shoulder and Vick's too, because we knew what was coming, we had seen the reaction in our dreams too many times before, Gale was going to volunteer with her, because there was no way he'd let her go in the arena without him. But we also knew that if Gale went into the games with Katniss, there was no way he would come home—he'd die to save her.

But when the scary Capitol lady called Peeta's name, Gale didn't say anything, he just let a tear roll down his face before crossing the 18 year olds section to find us and the Everdeen girls. It confused me, but I didn't want to upset him further. So when he looked at Mom and said he was saying goodbye, I offered to stay too.

The guards look at him and I can see them tighten their holds on their guns, but Gale just keeps pacing. I'm not sure if its Gale being up and around makes them nervous or if they know Prim and her mother are almost done. Either way, they tighten their holds on their guns each time he paces by them.

When Prim and her mother finally come out of their room, I rush to her to hug her, hoping I can help in any way. She hugs me back, and I see the Peacekeeper mention that it's time for Gale to go in.

Prim and her mother sit on the bench to wait with me, but it seems like Gale has just gone in when the Peacekeeper opens the door to bring him out. We can hear Katniss's tears and her instructions to not let us starve, but Gale struggles, hoping to be closer to her just for a second. Gale looks at her, and we can hear him start to shout, "_I love you_!" but the door closes before he can finish his sentence.

He slumps over to the three of us, and collapses on the bench, holding Prim and I close. After a moment, Madge Undersee comes from a room asks to speak to Katniss as well. She has something in her hand, but it doesn't confuse me half as much as her going to see Katniss—I didn't even know they were friends.

After her three minutes, Madge emerges, and walks silently over to where the three of us are on the bench. Gale starts to cry even harder, the shudders running through his body, "I should have volunteered, I should have volunteered," he says, over and over.

Prim holds his hand and tries to shush him, but she cries just as loudly as he does. I grab their hands, and I can feel the hot tears running down my face too. I start to understand everything that Gale had been saying to me about Katniss going into the games. He had tried to tell her he loved her, and now it was too late.

Madge just crouches in front of all three of us, and takes Gale's hand, "Hush your mouth, Gale Hawthorne," she says. "Katniss volunteered for her sister because she knew you would be here to take care of her family. She only went because she knew she could trust Prim with you."

Gale sniffled, "I should be there, I should be protecting her."

"But you _are_, Gale," Madge replies. "By protecting Prim, you're protecting Katniss's heart. So dry your tears, and be strong."

"She didn't even hear me… she doesn't know that I love her, she'll never know that I love her."

Madge narrows her eyes, "Hush your mouth, Gale. You know as well as I do that she's going to come back."

"Yeah, Gale," I agree. "You're always talking about how good Katniss is with an arrow and how she could survive on her own if she was left in the woods."

Prim nodded, "Kat will come home."

…

That night Prim and her mother came to our house for dinner, as they did every reaping day. Normally we celebrated another year safe for Gale and Katniss, but tonight it was more like a funeral than a celebration.

"Of course, Gale doesn't have to go through another reaping, so that's something to celebrate," my mom blurts over dinner.

Gale shakes his head, "I go from the threat of a death sentence from the Hunger Games to a death sentence from the mines. Oh goody."

Mom just shakes her head at him, I know that deep down she wants to get on to him for such rude behavior, but everyone at the table can tell how deeply his heart has been broken. It was just like Gale told me, he didn't know if he could survive without her.

After dinner, Mom tries to turn on the television to see the recordings of the reapings from other districts. We gather around, trying to determine which ones would be hard for Katniss to beat and which ones would be easy.

Gale and I sit on the floor, the only words escaping from us are "problem" or "easy." The Career districts only make Gale angry, because their tributes are so eager for death, while Katniss only volunteered so her sister wouldn't die. By the time we see the recording from our own district, the veins in Gale's arms are bulging from anger. We watch Katniss volunteer, and the straight face Gale wears as he pulls Prim away from her.

I look up at my mother and Prim's, and both of them are crying. Prim isn't though, she just watches with a smug smile. I raise an eyebrow at her, and she giggles, "Katniss is coming home."

Gale turns to face her. "What makes you so sure, Primrose Everdeen?" he says, mocking the pink lady's Capitol accent. She smiles, and suddenly Gale launches himself at her, pinning her down and yelling for me and Vick to come tickle her. We all start screaming and squealing, giggling and crying.

Our celebration is meager and before long, Prim and her mother start to get ready to leave. Prim turns back to me and takes my hand, "You'll all be over to watch the opening ceremonies, won't you?"

Gale tries to force a smile, but it doesn't work very well for him, "Yeah, Prim. We'll be over to watch with you."

We're all sad after they leave, and I'm not sure why, but Gale announces that he needs to leave too because he needs some space to think. "Can I come too?" I ask him, and for whatever reason, he nods.

He knows he can't go past the fence this week, since the fence will be electrified for the games and everything to impress the Capitol people, but oddly enough, he goes to a little meadow on our side of the fence. He finds a nice tree log to sit by and motions for me to sit next to him.

He takes deep breaths and runs his hands through his hair, so I assume that he's going to break the silence whenever he's ready to talk. Gale and Katniss are a lot alike—neither one of them likes to share their feelings—but sometimes it makes me wonder how they even became friends. I chalk it up to mutual need or something like that, but I often picture how their first meeting went. And as I do, I start to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Gale asks.

"Just picturing your first meeting with Katniss," I admit.

Gale smiles at me, "yeah, I guess it would've been funny to watch. Two scared kids who didn't trust each other."

And Gale starts telling me all about his meeting with her, all of their close calls, growing closer and closer to her. While he talks, I just smile and nod when I'm supposed to, just letting him talk. He starts to quiet down, clearly caught up in the fact that she might not be coming home.

"When did you fall in love with her?" I ask him.

He sighs, "Just one day in the woods, I looked at her and—wait a second. I never told anyone that I was in love with her." He cocks and eyebrow at me and I laugh, "How'd you know?"

"It's obvious," I shrug. "It's been obvious to everyone else for a long time."

Gale lets the comment go and looks up at the night sky, so I look up with him. A star shoots across the sky so we both gasp and close our eyes to make a wish. I'm not sure what Gale's is, but it's probably similar to my own wish of Katniss getting to come home. Gale stands up and gets ready to go back, "C'mon, Rory. Maybe the next few weeks will pass quickly and she'll come home and realize she loves me."


	5. Homecoming

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present the winners of the 74th annual Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark!" Caesar announces as the audience booms around him. Since she won two days ago, the entire district has done nothing but celebrate. The mines have been shut down, the merchant's shops have all been closed, and it's been a round-the-clock free for all in the town square.

As soon as Kat offered Peeta the berries, we knew it was over. Gale looked at me with concern, and Rory just grabbed my hand. The two of them were showing up the Capitol, and we just got to stand back and watch. We weren't sure what was going to happen to us or to them next, so we all just sat in front of the TV and watched the action unfold.

But nothing happened. Whispers were started at school, and Gale told Rory and I that the people at the Hob were starting to be more weary in what they sold to him. Everybody almost shunned our family and Gale's, just in case the Capitol force would be brought down hard on the people connected with Kat and Peeta.

But we all worried for nothing. They were presented as close to normal as possible for the interviews, and neither said anything that would get them in more trouble. Katniss even blamed her actions on "not being able to live without Peeta," but everybody who knew Katniss could see right through that.

Katniss was and has never been the type of person to let her emotions get the best of her because she's too logical for that. She would have analyzed every option before deciding that they had to be a Victor, they had to let them live. I had told Gale as much, and he had confirmed exactly what I suspected, she was saving Peeta's life with little to no regard on how it would affect her family—but Gale even doubted that she thought Snow would touch her family. He knew she wouldn't do anything that could possibly put me or Gale's family in danger.

So here we were, standing at the train station waiting for Katniss and Peeta to come off of it and back into our arms and our family. We could see the train in the distance, and as the crowd starts to cheer, Gale lifts me on his shoulders so I can see her all the better. I look down and see the huge smile on his face, and I know he's just as happy as I am that she's finally coming back. In fact, the whole district is happy to finally have two Victors, to finally be the best at something, for just a year.

When the train pulls into the station, and Katniss walks out on the platform, her eyes search the crowd for me and Gale, and as if he knows exactly who she's looking for, he holds up his hand, and I frantically wave at her to get her attention.

When she finally finds us, her eyes go wide, and then her face falls into a heartwarming smile, one that I know she's been keeping hidden for the last couple of weeks. It's a smile that I've only seen her make for one person, the guy holding me on his shoulders. I notice that it's not my eyes she's looking into, but Gale's. Rory notices too, and I can see how happy he is about his brother being the man that Katniss is truly happy to see. Actually, a lot of the people at the train station have noticed, and their smiles are infectious at seeing the smiles Gale and Katniss are exchanging.

But just as she starts to make a move towards us, Peeta grabs her hand and holds it up in front of everyone. For a split-second, Katniss's face is filled with horror at the thought of Gale seeing her that way with Peeta, but it's only for a split second, because she knows that she must keep up her act as hopelessly in love with Peeta.

Gale seems to register her look too, because after a few seconds, his body tenses, and he lifts me down off his shoulders. But Katniss takes this as her cue to run to me and lift me up, telling me over and over that she's missed me. She takes my hand and Rory's, laughing, telling Gale it's time to go home.

He smiles too as if he knows something we don't, "You're right, Catnip." And lets Rory and I lead him to our new home in the Victor's Village.

It's a very nice and large house, but it's still too nice for me to really come to like yet. It has a basement, a main floor with a living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom, and an upstairs with three bedrooms and a bathroom. The furniture is all worth enough money to feed the Seam families until they die, but we're not allowed to sell it or do anything with it.

As soon as we walk through the door, Mother, Hazelle, Vick, and Posy come to tackle Katniss in a bear hug that brings her to the floor. We all start giggling and squealing as we jump on top of the pile, when finally Katniss squeals that she's had enough and wants to freshen up in her room.

Gale soon follows her, and he catches looks from both mothers, as well as from Rory and I too, so we sneak upstairs to follow him and see what's going on. We have the perfect vantage point from the stairs, but all we can see is Katniss turning to find Gale standing in the doorway and surrendering to his arms. "I missed you, Catnip."

"I missed you too," Kat says. "I'm sorry for all the things about Peeta."

Gale suddenly breaks out of her arms, "Don't worry about it. It brought you home, didn't it?"

Rory and I look at each other and figure we've intruded enough before going downstairs to enjoy Katniss's big victory meal

* * *

**A/N: Switched to Rory's POV here!**

* * *

Gale bursts in the door, takes off his jacket, and immediately sinks into one of the chairs in the living room so he can shuck off his boots. Before he can even get the second boot completely off, his eyelids begin to droop. I can see Mom shaking her head, but she doesn't comment, so I don't either.

He's been working in the mines for two months now, and everybody except him can see the effects of it. His eyes have permanent dark circles under them, his fingers are permanently covered in the essence of coal dust, and he says he has tiredness in his bones that no amount of sleep will cure.

But he does try for us, and as Posy climbs into his lap to wake him up so he can read a book to her before supper, he pulls out a big smile and takes the book, getting as animated as possible for her pleasure.

It's Saturday night, which means instead of enjoying a few more hours of sleep, Gale is going to wake up early to escape to the woods with Katniss for a few hours. I think it's a good idea that he gets an escape once a week, but I know that it's killing him to sacrifice so much down time just to see her. But he doesn't complain, so I don't try to either.

I do know that Katniss has begged him and begged him to take some of her money from being a Victor, and I know that he has refused and refused her. I'm not really sure why, 'cause I know I would take it. Mom says it has something to do with his pride, and he wants to feed his family on his own. Sounds like a stupid reason to me.

So down to the mines he goes, from dawn till dusk, six days a week.

When Mom calls us in to supper, Gale's smile is infectious, and we're all excited for Mom's rabbit stew. Gale eats quickly and excuses himself, saying he needs to sleep so he can get an early start for tomorrow. Mom just shakes her head, because Katniss's hunting with Gale could easily jeopardize the way everyone sees Katniss's relationship with Peeta, but she knows as well as I do that Gale doesn't give a damn.

So in the morning when Gale starts on his trek, none of us say anything to him. Instead, I go to Prim's house and watch TV with her. TV is actually kind of nice when you aren't being forced to watch it.

But a few hours after Gale and Katniss have left, we see her come stomping in through the door and an angry Gale turn to leave to go back to our house in the Seam. I nod to Prim and take off after him, hoping to calm him down after whatever the hell just happened.

"Gale! Gale, wait! What happened?" I call.

He turns around sharply, and seeing that it's me following him, tries to soften his expression. "Nothing, Rory."

"You're lying," I accuse. "What happened to make you both so angry?"

He sits on the curb of the road and puts his face in his hands, "I did a bad thing, Rory. Something that I know I shouldn't have."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad, Gale."

He lifted his face from his hands and looked into my eyes, "I kissed her."


	6. Threat

yeah, yeah, i know i haven't updated in a long long time, but hereeee you go :) i'm putting this story kind of on the backburner, but i am hoping to get more done with it! thank you guys for reading xoxo

* * *

"He told me he kissed her," Rory says on our way to school. Since Gale's in the mines most of the time, and Katniss doesn't have to go to school anymore, our mothers have started letting Rory and I take ourselves and Vick to school.

"Do you think anyone else knows about it?"

Rory shakes his head, "Who knows with this country. Gale said there were no more secrets."

"What if the President finds out?" I say, thinking out loud.

Vick looks up at us, "He'll kill them. She's supposed to be in love with Peeta, not Gale."

"But everybody in 12 knows that she really loves Gale," Rory comments.

We walk up to the school and start to separate into our different classes, "Maybe 12 isn't the issue," I say to Rory. He mouths back at me that we'll talk about it after school and we both go to class.

The day passes slowly and I have to deflect the millions of questions about living with Katniss, a true Hunger Games Victor. IT was nice to have all the attention at first, but now it just makes me want to punch someone. I didn't want to be famous because my sister defied the Capitol, but whatever. I'm thankful when the lunch bell rings because it means that Rory and I get to eat lunch together by ourselves.

I sit down with my lunch and unpack the extra sandwich I always bring for Rory. Gale still doesn't know that I've been sneaking him lunch food, but not having anything to eat in our cafeteria is just one more way to tell the difference between the rich and the poor. So I pack him an extra sandwich and we share.

"Isn't Kat supposed to be leaving today?" Rory asks with his mouth full of food.

I nod, "At noon I think. It's only 11, I'll go home after this and tell her goodbye."

"Will you tell her bye for me?" Rory asks. "Gale said we weren't on the list to say goodbye to her."

I nod again as the lunch bell rings, signaling it's time to go back to class. I throw away my trash and Rory walks me to the office where I have to tell them I'm going home, but we're stopped by two Peacekeepers in their bright white uniforms.

"Miss Everdeen? Mr. Hawthorne?" They ask. Rory and I both nod, "Miss Everdeen, we are to escort you home to see your sister off this afternoon. Mr. Hawthorne, you are to return to class, thank you."

I nod, say goodbye to Rory and follow them home. I get more and more depressed the closer we get, because Kat is going to be gone for quite a while on the Tour, and I hate it when she's not here. It's not that Mom isn't doing a better job now, but she tries too hard whenever Katniss is gone, like she finally has a chance to be a mother and she's going to do it perfectly by the book.

When I open the door, I see President Snow standing in the living room, complimenting my mother on her hospitality and the "talent" Katniss is showing by her clothing designs that are spread out around the living room. I smile politely like I'm supposed to and excuse myself, making a beeline for Kat's room, but she looks fine. I know he's said something to her, and I know it concerns Gale, but I don't speak. I decide I'll tell Gale on Sunday and see what he thinks.

Katniss is rushed from room to room and doesn't have much time for goodbyes, just a hug and kiss and 'I'll be home soon.' We basically watch her make out with Peeta at the train station, and more than one person cocks an eyebrow at Katniss's strange behavior. Haymitch is on edge, and more than once I see him sneak a drink from a flask in his pocket. Even Peeta's smile looks a little forced—and then I realize what's truly going on. Snow has threatened Katniss, probably with Gale and my own life. That's why she's so over-the-top in love with him now. When Katniss's train leaves, I look down at my watch, it's nearly six pm—which is when the mines let out.

I decide I can't wait any longer and I bolt for the Hawthorne house—I'll wait for Gale if I have to. Hazelle is surprised to see me and so is Rory, but I don't say anything, I just sit on their couch and wait for Gale.

I'm only there for a few minutes before he comes in, face black with coal and eyes with deep circles under them. He tries to brighten them a little when he sees me and stretches his arms out for a hug. I surrender to him, stretching up to whisper in his ear, "We need to talk."

Gale smiles to his mother and says, "I think Prim and I should take a walk. A lot has happened today." She nods and he leads me out the door, holding my hand the way one would hold the hand of a toddler. It's oddly comforting.

He doesn't speak or stop walking until we get to the meadow on the edge of the Seam, and then he just turns and looks at me, waiting for me to explain.

"I saw the President in our house today and I think he talked to Katniss," I begin. Gale nods for me to continue, "I think he threatened Katniss. Because she really hates Peeta, but she was acting like…"

"Like what?" Gale prods.

I pause, not really knowing if I should tell him, but I do anyway. "Katniss was acting towards Peeta the way she acts towards you. All happy and smiling and hugging and stuff. She wouldn't do that normally because she basically hates him."

"So you think he threatened her? With what?" Gale asks.

I look down at my shoes and back into Gale's eyes, "Gale, what are the two things in this world that Katniss would be afraid of losing?"

"Oh…" Gale says, wiping his face with a rag from his back pocket. He starts mumbling, angrily to himself and eventually throws the rag against a tree, "I should have listened…I should have ran…"

"What?" I ask him.

I can't be sure, but I think Gale blushes at the fact that I've caught him mumbling to himself, but he chuckles, "She asked me to run away with her when she came home and I thought she was kidding. Maybe after the Victory Tour…"

"They'll announce the Quarter Quell, Gale," I say. "You two can't run. What about me and Rory and mom and Hazelle and Posy and Vick?"

He chuckles again, "Why do you think I said no, Prim? Do you think I could leave you? You're like my own sister." Gale opens his arms again and I hug him, letting him nearly crush me.

He's right—Gale is basically my brother, and a father in most ways. I know he'd do anything possible to protect me and his siblings—even if that meant giving up his love for Katniss to another man.

"We should probably get back, you have a new house in the Victor's Village to fill," he chuckles. "How about we race back to your house? I'll take you home first."

"You're on!" I scream, shrilling and running back to the house. I know he's dead tired, but he still tries to win, leading me into the house and up to my bedroom, even tucking me in and kissing me goodnight.

But when Gale leaves, I get out of bed and look out the window, wondering where Kat is and what she's doing, and what I could possibly do to get her home and keep her here, without the Games ever again. Like magic, I see a star shoot across the sky, and I know exactly what I'm going to wish for before the star even makes its way across the sky.

I just wish Kat would come home.


End file.
